Chattapets: Don't leave your dog in a hot car

If you think leaving your dog in a car with a partially opened window during hot weather is OK, you're wrong, said Karen Lillard Roach, director of Dog Friendly Chattanooga.

"Cracking the windows is a myth. It doesn't affect the temperature hardly at all," she said.

A study by the Animal Protection Institute showed that even moderately warm temperatures outside can quickly lead to deadly temperatures inside a closed car, according to the website mydogiscool.com.

The study, conducted during a heat wave, compared an outside temperature in a shaded area with the inside of an automobile. The study found that at 9 a.m. with an outside temperature of 82 degrees, the temperature inside a closed car was 109 degrees. At 4 p.m., the outside temperatures reached 98 degrees, while inside the vehicle the temperature was 110 degrees.

"My Dog Is Cool" was designed to educate people about the dangers hot weather poses to dogs. It is a campaign of United Animal Nations, a national nonprofit animal protection organization. For more information, visit mydogiscool.com.

If you see a dog trapped inside a hot car, call police, Roach said.

Upcoming Events